


Let's Bee Together

by Baroness_Blixen



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Bee keeping, F/M, Fluff, here be bees, mentions of: ftf and iwtb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 15:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18055460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baroness_Blixen/pseuds/Baroness_Blixen
Summary: Set during IWTB: Scully comes home from the hospital to find a bored and restless Mulder has picked up an interesting new hobby: apiculture.





	Let's Bee Together

The sun is low as Scully steers the car towards the house. She parks, not caring how bad of a job she’s doing. They’ve got enough space out here in rural Virginia. The warm breeze tickles her skin and she takes a deep breath. Home. Her steps are heavy as she walks up the porch. There’s no sight of Mulder. She steps inside and is surprised how cool it is and how dark. Scully switches on a light, hangs up her coat and looks for Mulder in his office. The room is just as dark, abandoned and messy. That makes her smile. But he’s not there either.

“Mulder?” She’s shocked how brittle her voice sounds. She rubs her hand over her eyes, exhaustion at her fingertips. She switches into her comfortable sneakers and puts on Mulder’s old sweater that he’s thrown over a chair. It smells like him. The air is turning colder and licks at her skin as she walks outside. When she hears a buzzing sound, she’s convinced she’s going insane. Until, finally, she finds Mulder. If that man is indeed the man she’s spent the last 15 years with.

“Mulder?” She doesn’t dare walk closer to him. He’s wearing… something. And he’s surrounded by… bees. Lots and lots of bees. She rubs her eyes again, not certain she is here, is awake and not dreaming. But Mulder is still there, as are the bees, as is the buzzing. “Mulder!” she yells, needing him to explain what the hell is going on.

“Scully, hi.” Even through the veil, she can see him grin. She’d never thought she’d see him like this. Mulder is in full gear. Veiled hat, full protective suit and boots. He’s a vision in white and she’d laugh if she wasn’t completely frozen. Not to mention confused. How long has she not been home?

“Surprise,” he says, lifting his arms. His polyester rustles as he walks closer to her. He smells like plastic, the warm sun and honey. Scully can’t do anything but stare at him. She can’t even find her voice to ask him what all of this is about. “We have bees.”

“I can see that,” she says with a hard swallow. The bees seem content over there at their hive, buzzing happily around, not coming closer. But bees make her nervous, even after all these years. Her skin is itching under her clothes and she wants to go away, back inside, and never see these bees ever again. “Why do we have bees, Mulder?”

He shrugs, his smile spreading over his whole face. If she’s honest, she hasn’t seen him smile like this in a while. A long while. After the Monica Bannan case and Mulder’s reinstatement as a non-dead and non-fugitive person, he’s become restless. Scully thought he’d be happy to be able to go out again, like a normal person. Except Mulder has never been normal. Isolation has changed him. The first time she asked him to accompany him to a hospital function, he hesitated. Told her to go on her own and have fun. As if she couldn’t have fun with him. She’s waited years to be with Mulder out in the open. She dragged him with her, pleading with him, and he went. It wasn’t a full-blown disaster, but close to it. After that, it was hard to get Mulder out of the house at all.

Now she realizes that his pale complexion has taken on color. His cheeks are rosy, healthy. His eyes are sparkling again.

“I was bored,” he admits with a boyish smile. “You kept saying I needed a hobby. You were right. My novel is going nowhere and I wanted to do something.”

“But… bees? Why didn’t you tell me about them?” That’s when his expression gets sheepish. He’s been planning a surprise; she recognizes the signs. 

“I thought I’d wait until I could present you our first homegrown honey. I had this whole thing planned.” With a cheesy line about her and honey, no doubt. She smiles at him, feels guilty that she’s ruined it now. She eyes the hive, the bees around it. “They’re harmless,” Mulder says, sensing her discomfort.

“They’re bees, Mulder. Bees sting. You can talk all you want in your protective gear.”

“I might have bought a suit for you, too. It was supposed to be part of the surprise. Do you want me to get it?” She shakes her head no and if Mulder is disappointed, he hides it well. He takes off his hat.

“You really know what you’re doing there?” From her standpoint, it looks like he’s got everything he needs. It looks, and she barely dares to think it, professional.

Mulder nods, stepping closer to her. “I’ve been reading a lot. I didn’t want to go into it and not be prepared.”

“How is it that you have no stings?” Has she just not seen them? When was the last time they’ve made love? The last time she’s touched, let alone seen, his naked body? She gets home late at night, with Mulder already asleep. In the morning, when she leaves, he’s still in bed. She’s been missing everything. There’s a beehive behind her house and she had no idea.

He shrugs. “I’m good at this, Scully.”

“You’re good at everything you put your mind to.” She means it, too. Shortly after they went on the run, Mulder decided he needed to learn how to cook. It was the easiest, safest way for them to eat. And learn to cook he did. Every once in a while he still cooks for her and it’s never been anything but excellent. She never would have thought he’d be interested in beekeeping, though. After all this time, she’s still learning new things about him.

“You know,” his whole face lights up in a smile, “there’s a book called Bee Sex Essentials. That one really held my interest.”

“Does everything come back to sex, Mulder?”

“Well, doesn’t it? Anyway, it was the first book I read.”

“Of course it was,” she chuckles and Mulder continues.

“The title spoke to me but ever since then, I’ve been so fascinated by bees. Scully, these little insects are amazing.” She takes his hand and smiles at him, hoping he’ll keep going. How she’s missed seeing him like this. His enthusiasm has always been contagious. He loves this. She sees it in the way the corners of his mouth twitch.

“I’ve been thinking about joining a beekeeping club.”

“There are clubs?” He nods, a quick, excited movement.

“There’s one not far from here. I’ll show you later. They’ve got a website and everything. If you want,” he adds, like an afterthought.

“I want,” Scully assures him. “I feel like… Mulder, when did all this happen? When did you do all this?” His smile wavers, a shadow flickering over his face. She understands. She hasn’t been home much lately. It’s not just that they haven’t made love. When was the last time they spent an evening together, doing nothing? When was the last time they talked, really talked? She can’t remember and it’s not Mulder’s fault. Her whole life is at the hospital. 

“I’m sorry,” she says before he even gets a chance to explain. The simple words chip away at her and she feels a deep longing to hug him, to keep him close and not let go.

“I’m happy you love your work so much, Scully. I am. Seeing you as a doctor, doing something you love, it's… it’s breathtaking. I just needed to find something for myself that made me feel the same way.”

“And then you found the bees.”

He chuckles. “I found the bees. It’s a hobby, Scully. This is not my calling. It’s a way to spend my time and do something so I don't… you know.” She nods. So that he doesn’t become restless or worse, fall into the cold abyss of depression. She shudders, thinking about it. Mulder draws her closer, shielding her from the cool air and her own thoughts.

“But how did you- where did all of this come from?” The fact that there are approximately hundreds of bees living in the backyard now makes her uneasy. She wants Mulder to be happy and she wants him to have this. But… does it have to be bees?

“I bought them. Well, I bought a nuc,” he laughs when he sees her confused expression, “it’s just terminology. And of course, I bought a queen.” The pride in his voice is evident.

“You have a queen?”

“You need a queen, Scully. I have two, actually.” He kisses her nose softly.

“The queens tolerate each other?”

“We’ll see.” He winks at her and takes her hand. Now she understands. She lets him lead her over to the small wooden hive. The buzzing gets louder the closer they get.

“Mulder, I’m not sure-” he puts a finger on her lips and then puts the hat he had on earlier over her head. It’s too big for her but it will work for the moment.

“Aren’t they just beautiful?” Squeezing Mulder’s hand tight, she watches. Her fear vanishes with every second. The bees won’t attack her. They’re working. They’re busy little bees, doing their job. A smile breaks across her face, the sheer joy of watching this little world overwhelming her. Mulder’s eyes are on her face, warming her. He, too, is smiling.

“So what does my queen bee think of my… honey queen?”

“We both think you should come up with better lines.” But she grins at him.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

“Why?”

“It’s getting cold and the bees don’t need us here. I, however, would like to kiss you and we don’t have the best track record when it comes to kissing around bees.” He tugs at her hand and she follows him but stops him once they’re far enough from the hive. The buzzing is a distant hum, like music.

“I missed you,” she says, interlacing their fingers.

“I missed you, too.” She feels like he wants to say more but doesn’t. Maybe tonight isn’t the time to have a serious conversation. Tonight is about sweetness, like honey, about starting to find a way back.

“This residency is… it’s a lot.” He nods, understanding. In all of this, in everything they’ve done since they went on the run all those years ago, Mulder has been nothing but understanding. Now it’s her time. If Mulder wants to keep bees, then he will keep bees. Standing here with him, she realizes it’s not him who is restless, it’s her. She’s been trying to sprint towards more, towards other things. Mulder is just here, trying to make a life. As unremarkable as it may seem. Ages ago she asked him if he ever wanted to stop, to have a normal life when their lives were anything but. Now, he’s making a new life; he has settled down, with her. Bees and all.

“Can I kiss you now?” he asks with a hint of the impatience she knows so well. Hell, she even missed that part of him. She misses all of him. But she doesn’t answer him and she doesn’t let him kiss her. Scully gets on tiptoes and presses her mouth to his. There’s a hum that gets closer and she breaks their kiss just as Mulder’s mouth opens under hers. He mewls and looks disappointed.

“I think… Mulder, I think maybe one of the bees followed us.” As if it were 1998 and not 2008, his hand sneaks to her neck, wanders along and under her collar. She shivers, goosebumps exploding on her skin from his simple touch.

“No bee this time.” His smile is as gentle as the hand clasping her neck. He leans forward again and right before their lips meet, Scully moves away. “Scully,” he whines. “I told you we should go inside. I’m not letting another bee stop me from making love to you.”

They giggle all the way upstairs to their bedroom. They close the door behind them and find each other.

With no bee in sight.


End file.
